Robot Pupils in Stradbally!

Yesterday was nearly the last day of my life. I had to supervise the junior and senior classes because their teacher, Mrs Crowley went home sick. They might have sounded harmless but they were far from it.

I walked into the classroom with my best friend Emily. They were working quietly, but when I accidentally banged the door they all stopped working and looked at us with their big red eyes. We knew at that moment that they had turned evil. They got up off their seats and tried to attack us. We tried to open the door but it was jammed. What could we do now? We tried to put soap on them from the sink in their classroom but the soap ended up all over Emily and I. We thought that they were vampire children but they were robot children. The robot children got sharp pencils and started to throw them at us. Then they tried to throw paint at us. I shouted so people would hear us but nobody did.

They were coming nearer and nearer to us. It was really frightening. Suddenly there was a knock on the window, it was the sub teacher. The robot children ran straight back to their seats. Emily and I made a deal that we would never ever to into that classroom again!

written by S.MG., 5th class
 

Visit from Local Historian John Young

Pupils display some historic artifacts.

Mr. de Búrca told us that a man was going to come in to talk to us about the famine. His name was John. The next day John came in and he told us about the workhouse in Dungarvan which is now an eye-clinic. He explained that the boys were trained to put the soles on shoes (have a close look at the machine in the picture above) and the girls were taught lace-making and embroidery. He also said that 200 girls were sent to Quebec in Canada. They were all around my age, older and younger.

John told us lots of people died or emmigrated. Around one million people died and another one million emmigrated. The main food at that time was potatoes and when blight attacked the potato plant, there was no food to be eaten.

The famine was called the Great Famine because it was so long. There was a group of people in America called the Choktaw Indians who sent Indian corn to Ireland, but eating this also killed many of the Irish people because they could not digest this properly.

The workhouse had lines of hundreds of people dying or dead outside. Even inside the workhouses they still died. All they got to eat was one bowl of soup each day.

Some landlords owned the houses that workhouses were made from and they just evicted everybody and made it all into an area to farm animals. 

Written by E.R, 4th class, December 2012.

School Mix Up

One day I went to school, but this was my new school and it wasn’t an ordinary school it was called: Mix Up N.S. So here I was standing in the front door of the school. It looked so shiny and new. I heard a child my age shout ‘Line up’. I thought she meant us, but then I saw all the adults lining up. So in this school the children are in charge of the adults. I was then introduced to the other children, and instantly I made friends with a tall, beautiful girl. Her name was Betty.

Now I live here and teach adults. It’s so much fun. I get to give grades. The adults live in the school building and me and the children live in a mansion at the top of the hill. Now it feels normal to boss around adults. 

By Emily R, 4th  class

Elves on Christmas Eve

On the 24th Dec 9:00 Jim Marco and John were in a rush. They were not very organised. All the other elves hated them. Jim Marco and John wanted to show them that they were not absolutely dumb.

‘Jim…Jim!’ shouted an elf called Joline. ‘One of the bulbs of the fairy lights is gone!’ Jim called his two brothers and they went to change the bulb. John suggested that they should stack themselves up so they could reach the bulb. When Jim went to the top of their stack he lost his balance and fell. 

As he fell, an important piece of paper fell out of his pocket. It was Santa's sleigh license.

‘Oh no!’ Said Santa when he found his wallet empty. ‘I gave that little rat my license to go and get it laminated and he lost it!’ He charged into the elf camp. Jim Marco and John never got told off like this before. ‘I cant drive my sleigh now!’ said Santa. ‘you are not to work until It is found!’ Jim, Marco and John looked everywhere.

Just as they were going to give up, a voice from behind them said: ‘You looking for this?’ They turned around to see Joline holding the license. ‘Give it back!’ Said Marco. ‘Oh I will, if you promise to be more careful.’ ‘We will!!!’ They said in unison. From then on, the three of them became the most organised elves in the North Pole. 

By Emily M

We Visited The Art Hand in Bunmahon

Many thanks to Miranda and Sean for a lovely time.
 

Stoory coming soon......

Santa Goes to the Caribbean (from Stradbally)

This year we are doing our Christmas play ‘Santa goes to the Caribbean’. The play moves between the North Pole and the Caribbean island of Jamaica. We are practicing every day. It is interesting too to be practicing the Jamaican accent. The famous runner Usain Bolt is from Jamaica.

Cast of Characters:
Ambrose:   Amy
Cuckold:   Tara and Emily M
Evil Genius:   Hayley
Griselda:   Emily R and Tara
Marco:   Orna
Marigold:   Emily M and Savannah
Mary Anne:   Kellsey
Mischief:   Zoe and Beckie
Narrator:   Savannah, Natasha and Emily R
Pint Size:   Mr. de Búrca
Rudolf:   Sheena, Natasha
Santa:   Beckie, Zoe
Tingolaya:   Louise
Director of photography:   Sheena
Director of visual and sound effects:   Louise, Natasha and Savannah

Written by SMG, 6th class
illustration coming soon